Eternity of Stars
by Twinkle the Mountain Loner
Summary: NightClan is new; After the great storm, the cats have been split up from their Clanmates and are forced to become a new Clan, separated by a river; When the river freezes, they can cross back! But the younger cats who have made their home in NightClan don't want to leave ...Will they be forced to join a Clan they don't know, or will NightClan become a Clan for eternity? On Hiatus
1. Prologue & Alliances

**A/N: Kay, so here's the first edit. I added the apprentices and Grassymoon and confirmed the fact that there are no elders in the Alliances. For the Prologue, I added as much more detail as possible while keeping the basic outline. Anyways, read and REVIEW!**

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**Prologue**

The winds howled as the she-cat screeched in pain.

"Almost there, Grassymoon, almost done," the medicine apprentice, Goosepaw, told the kitting queen. She tried to speak over her pounding heart, but it's beats seemed to fill her ears with a strange thrumming. _Oh great StarClan._

"Froghopper's done everything. Now bite the stick when the kits come." The little white-and-gray cat did as much as possible to calm Grassymoon down, while her mentor, Froghopper, whispered in Goosepaw's ear.

"There's only one kit, but it's too big right now. I'm not sure what to do for this." His words sent a new wave of fear rippling through Goosepaw. Her mouth opened, and she gaped at her mentor, lost for words. Her paws were numb from standing for so long.

"Grassymoon's been kitting _since sunhigh_!" She burst out, accidentally startling her patient. The other cats, though, stayed asleep as the moon, cold and helpless, hung over the two distressed medicine cats.

"I—wait! There she is! A stubborn little she-kit," Froghopper said as he handed the cream-and-white tabby kit to Goosepaw. "I'm pretty sure that it was because Grassymoon's whole body jerked when you shouted at me." Froghopper glanced at the splinters of the dry twig. "I'll clean this up. You know what to do, Goosepaw. Lick." Goosepaw obeyed her mentor and Grassymoon summoned her single and last ounce of strength to look at her newborn child.

"Oh, how I wish Sparrow was here," Grassymoon whispered so that no one would hear her, not even Goosepaw, who was close by. "He would have been so proud . . ."

* * *

_The starry cats gazed into the misty pool of water that showed Grassymoon and her kit. _"Sandykit has a long destiny ahead of her," one commented, watching as the queen named her kit after the specks of grit on her pelt.

"You know she will, Dawnstar," the other, a blue-and-white tabby, replied.

"Of course," said another pale gray she-cat. "It's just . . . too bad that we cannot tell the Clans that there are supposed to be three. We could have stopped much suffering, stopped what will happen to them . . ." The she-cat looked at the pool, which now showed the murky future ahead of the Chosen.

"Now, even if we could, where's the fun it that?" asked the tabby mischievously, but with a small ounce of truth. "Then these cats' destinies will be ruined."

"Waterstar!" exclaimed Dawnstar, nudging the younger StarClan cat with mock shock. "Yes, I know that the way of a warrior should be are, but I wouldn't stand by and let the cats die."

"I'm _joking, _if you haven't noticed."

Dawnstar sighed. "I know, but—"

"—but," cut in the gray tabby, Pathbreeze, "we know these cats have a path stretching ahead of them in no ways we could have imagined. Their actions will leave a mark in the Clans' history . . . for all eternity."

* * *

**Alliances**

_Leader: _Clawstar—Gray and brown tabby tom with blue eyes

_Deputy: _Fogpelt—White she-cat with speckles of gray; thick fur and green eyes

_Medicine cat: _Froghopper—Long legged rusty colored tom with blue eyes

_Apprentice, Goosepaw_

_Warriors: _Halffur—Black tom with yellow eyes and pink scars criss-crossing his pelt

Greennight—Silver-blue she-cat with green eyes

Vinetail—Long-tailed she-cat with with a blue-gray pelt and luminous blue eyes

_Apprentice, Moonpaw_

Dawnstep—Orangish striped tom with pink pawpads and yellow eyes

Treeheart—Brown tom with scraggly fur and amber eyes

Cloudfoot—White tom with a gray paw and pale yellow eyes

_Apprentice, Falconpaw_

Darkheart—Black she-cat with strange purplish eyes

Swanwing—White she-cat with a black muzzle; brown eyes

Buzzingtail—Small, compact tom with a yellowish pelt; black stripes on his tail and green eyes

_Queens: _Meadowlark—Pretty pale red she-cat with green eyes and white paws (_Mother of Firekit, fiery red tomkit with green eyes_)

Grassymoon—Tannish colored she-cat with green eyes

_Apprentices: _Falconpaw—Dark gray tom with brown and light gray speckles; yellow eyes

Moonpaw—Light gray she-cat with pale green eyes

Goosepaw—White she-cat with gray splotches and yellow eyes; Medicine cat apprentice

_Elders: _None


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Reading this reminds me of how much I change in 2-3 months, lol. This doesn't have much revision in it, but hopefully it's better. As always, read & review! (and vote on the poll; it's not too late to change my mind on the FireXSandy pairing!)**

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**Chapter One**

Sandykit opened her eyes to the warm sun's rays that were seeping into the collapsed twoleg den, also known as the nursery. She lifted her head and inhaled the air. _New day, fun day_! Sandykit thought, bouncing up and down.

Sandykit tumbled out into a ball, straight into a patch of grass. There was hardly any grass in NightClan; just little patches and stems growing out of cracks in the stone earth. Sandykit did her best roar at the grass and tore at it, her tiny but sharp claws shredding the blades into mousefodder. "How dare you stop my rolling, grass?" she asked it, trying to sound as dignified as Clawstar. Of course, she'd never be able to sound like her leader. _Never . . . _Even though she was in the corner of the camp, Sandykit could just imagine the horribly stifled giggles of the older apprentices. Giving a _harrumph _of frustration, Sandykit padded to the playplace of the nursery . . . right into her mother. Sandykit squeaked and jumped back several kitten-steps.

"What are you doing up so early, little kit?" asked Grassymoon.

"Well, I was _trying_ to punish the grass from stopping from rolling into the center of the camp," Sandykit said. "Because I heard from Firekit that Moonpaw and Falconpaw were getting their warrior ceremony today."

"Not yet, little kit," Grassymoon said. "In three more moons. I suppose that you better launch an attack on Firekit to 'punish' him, then!" Sandykit's mother laughed, then said, "I'm going off on a hunting patrol. I'll see you later."

Sandykit sighed. With so few warriors in NightClan, the queens always had to switch duties everyday; Meadowlark would watch the kits as Grassymoon hunted, and backwards. _Well, _she thought, _I'll become a warrior one day, and they won't have to anymore!_ Sandykit spotted Firekit sniffing another patch of grass and decided to go with her mother's idea. She barreled towards him, shouting, "NightClan, attack!" Firekit gave a _mrrow_ of surprise; then, automatically, the kits were locked in a mock play-fight.

_Back kick, roll, paws sheathed, front blow!_ Sandykit ran over the moves in her head as she did them, glad that she'd asked Moonpaw to teach her. Her warrior instinct let her choose the ride side to roll, the right place to strike, the right time to dive . . . A quick energy moved her paws forward, like every other time she fought with Firekit. Sandykit felt the excitement of action pulsing through her veins.

"I surrender to get a mouse for Meadowlark and something for us!" Firekit announced when Sandykit had pinned him down sucessfully.

"That's a loss, Fire," she warned.

"I know."

As Firekit left, Sandykit ran over the story of The Great Storm, which Froghopper had told her.

_I was in the great storm, Sandykit,_ he had started. _The sky started growing darker and darker at first, but it was night, so there was hardly anything to worry about. Yet.__  
_

_ The earth started to shake, pieces of land crumbling here and there. Every single creature in the forest ran away blindly, but we the cats did not. We were warriors. We were brave._

_ That wass, until the lightning flashed and struck one of the warriors—I think his name was Scratchpelt, great warrior really,—and killed him. Then the cats started screaming. If Scratchpelt, one of the strongest cats, had died, how could they survive? It was horrible, Sandykit. Shrieks erupted everywhere; Now that I think about it, thescars were louder than the storm. Mothers took their kits and if they could, their mates to find a safe place. The leader and deputy were scared as well, and so was I. Most of the elders had died by this point. Both Clans, WoodCland and StreamClan, started running, and neither side cared who crossed which border. Some of the cats, though, ran into Twolegplace. That was us. That was NightClan._

_ The great storm made a huge crack in the earth, seperating Twolegplace and Clan territory, and rainwater filled it to the brim. When at last the storm died down, Gravestar, the leader of StreamClan, had been seperated from his deputy, Littlewish. Littlewish was named leader of NightClan, with the WoodClan's leader, Fishstar's, permission. And from that day on, the river was named the Glowing River. It is the boundary that separates us from the other Clans. It is our StarClan meeting place as well, since the old Glowing Cliff hadbroken. This is the story of how NightClan was made, Sandykit, and you must always hold it in your heart._

Sandykit snapped out of her thoughts as Firekit dropped a small shrew next to her. It was quite scrawny.

"Best I could get, since I already took the plumpest prey to Meadowlark," Firekit explained apologetically.

"It's fine." Sandykit answered truthfully. She sniffed the shrew as Firekit settled down to his food, a vole.

The fur of the shrew was split in half, and one half was split into two. There were intricate designs, and only StarClan knew how it was made.

And only Sandykit noticed the swirls and patterns.

And just as she was about to take a bite, she realized that it was a map . . . A map of the Clans' territory.

* * *

**A/N: I must say, my favorite part of this chapter is the Great Storm story. This chapp****ie used to be 600 something words, and now it's 1000 . . . Great StarClan!**

**So, your random fact . . . (don't read this until you've read up to chapter 9)**

**The name 'Akafrenze' means blaze in my language. As in, my made-up language. AKA the others' language.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Right. Chapter two. Well, read and review and tell me what you think of the edits!**

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**Chapter Two**

Sandykit bit her lip so she didn't yell out loud. Who would believe a tiny 5-almost-6 moon old kit? There was a voice in the back of her mind saying that today she had turned six moons old, but she didn't hear it. A slight growl rumbled in her chest, but she forced it down, glancing around quickly. No one, not even Firekit, had heard. She forced herself to take a bite of the shrew, but it tasted like trees and rivers and grass and dirt in her mouth, after seeing the Clans' territories on the fur. Sandykit took and other bite, then another.

"Done yet?" she asked Firekit.

"Yup. Now, I shall get my revenge on you, Sandy_star_!" Firekit faked a very real-like maniactic laugh and launched himself at Sandykit, pummeling her with his paws.

* * *

Firekit pushed Sandykit with a paw, using his size to his advantage. "I am Firestar, leader of . . . FoxClan!" If he could, he would have said WoodClan or StreamClan, but all the warriors in NightClan said that 'they came from one of the other Clans, and one day they would become two Clans again,' so he didn't. But how he wished he could!

"Oh really?" asked Firekit's playmate. "Well, I'm Sandystar, leader of _NightClan_!"

_Yeah, NightClan is the best! Go NightClan! _Firekit cheered in his head, but he had to maintain his 'I am the evil leader of FoxClan' role, and cheering for the opposing Clan wouldn't really help.

"Not anymore! I shall destroy your Clan, one by one, and then you shall be leader of _Nothing_Clan!" Firekit retorted, racking his brain for the best fake threat.

"Wow. _Terrifying_," Sandykit said, and they both laughed. Firekit took the chance to strike at her and quickly got the smaller tabby kit onto her back. "Surrender or die!" he said.

"Never!" Sandykit tackled Firekit as he spoke and they rolled in a bundle of fur.

* * *

The kit pricked its ears. _Where are my parents? Where are Day and Dawn? _asked her thoughts. It forced itself up, still drowsy. Wobbling slightly, it heard laughter and joyful shouts. _We used to be like that_, she thought sadly, feeling regret wash over her.

_It had started when Dawn, Day, and her got into a fight about moving away from their den. Dawn and Day took their father's side, to move to a new place, and she took her mother's side. Every night there were terrible sounds coming from the den. Angry shouts and yowls and hisses, and sometimes—just sometimes—a shriek from their mother, who would come out, her scarred face bloody and her eye, or eyes, closed._

That was all she could remember. She also remembered her father saying something about a 'Clan' who lived in this barren, stony place. Whatever he'd said, the basics of this _Clan_ thing was that it was a group of fierce cats who worked together and would chase those not in their Clan away, and that was why they should move. Despite herself, the she-kit's worst memories came back.

_Get out of the way! _her father had shouted. Her mother had cried with pain.

_Storm, relax! Maybe this Clan won't hurt us if we won't hurt them, maybe they wouldn't hurt Day and Dawn! _The she-kit's mother had been smart not to mention her. It would have driven her mate even more crazy than he already was.

_Relax? RELAX? _her father, Storm, had roared. _Song, I've told you already, and I'm not wasting my breath on you again! Now get away from my sight, or—_

Although the she-kit had been able to cut away the memory before it went to the part where it had made her cry out with a burning hopelessness, as she walked bindly into who knwe where, the words engraved themselves into her head over and over again.

_—or you and you stupid kit will die._

* * *

Moonpaw was exasperated. "For the ten thousandth and last time, Falconpaw, _I am not letting you on my midnight walk_!" she shouted angrily, stress getting the better of her. Moonpaw's piercing green eyes glared at Falconpaw until she saw, with contemptment, that the other apprentice shrank back. Her new-moon walk was a time _alone_ where she relaxed and . . . It might seem crazy, but speak with StarClan. She wanted to be a warrior, but still she couldn't help but imagine . . .

Moonpaw shook her head and stalked away from the befuddled-looking Falconpaw. She padded over to Vinetail, running into Cloudfoot on the way.

"Falconpaw bothering you?" he asked, tilting his head to one side in a friendly manner.

"Kind of . . ."

That was all Cloudfoot needed. He nodded to Moonpaw. "I'll have a word with him. Go on to Vinetail, now; she's waiting."

Moonpaw dipped her head quickly and half-ran towards Vinetail. "What're we doing today, Vinetail?" she asked, jumping on her paws.

"Hunting practice."

Moonpaw gulped inwardly. Prey was almost impossible to find in this empty stone Twolegplace, and plus the winds of leaf-fall would urge all the animals into getting prepared for the leaf-bare and hide. But she just nodded. "Alright."

* * *

Meanwhile, in an old twoleg nest, a female cat lay as she panted, giving birth to a kit. The birthing went perfectly smoothly, but as she studied the newborn creature, her eyes widened in disgust. The kit was a tiny runt. He'd hardly be able to make it through the first day.

"Stupid Hallow, giving me this scrap of fur for a kit," she growled and stood up. "He's not worth my milk, food, or time. That thing will never survive, anyways." And so the mother stood up on delicate, dainty paws and walked away, her tail lifted, without looking back.

So she certainly didn't know that a NightClan patrol had found the little kitten.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, we're also at 1000+ words on this chapter, as well. I mainly fixed Darkpaw's POV in this, but I did fix a few other things****. The random fact is from when I first typedout this chapter.**

**Random fact: Not all cats born in NightClan like it there. Falconpaw and some junior warriors want to find out what life is like in the other Clans, sick of the lack of prey and shelter in the NightClan life.**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Read and review, then! Moon and Sandy's POV only, and there is about a 30-60 minute timeskip in this. Also, the bottom AN is the original.**

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**Chapter Three**

Moonpaw followed the patrol consisting of Dawnstep, Greennight, and Halffur. She had tagged along after managing to find a rabbit kit that was hardly enough for a bite. The soft white fur tickled her nose, and she sneezed before skidding to a halt as Halffur stopped at a twoleg nest, although not able to stop herself crashing into the older warrior.

Halffur opened his mouth to taste the air. "There's a kit in there," he muttered, ignoring Moonpaw and beckoning to Greennight, who was great with kits.

"It's a tom, newborn and abandoned," Greennight called from inside the monster's part of the nest. "Shall we bring him back? A small little thing."

"We better, or so says the warrior code," Halffur replied indifferently. "But the thing is, our queens have no milk."

_They don't_, Moonpaw agreed. Firekit and Sandykit would probably be having their apprentice ceremony today. Her paws itched at the word ceremony. _I'll be having a ceremony, too, in three moons._

"_I_ do," Greennight said, startling the patrol. She had come out with the kit in her jaws. "I'm close enough to birthing to have milk." Moonpaw knew that Greennight was Treeheart's mate, but she'd never thought that they would've agreed to kits.

Dawnstep, who had said nothing, stared at the kit, his jaws open. "That—he looks like—he looks like Sky!" he exclaimed. Moonpaw pricked her ears. Dawnstep was not Clanborn, like most of the cats. He had a mate before joining NightClan, and her name was Sky; a vain, delicate she-cat who didn't care much for kits, from what she had heard.

The tiny kit had swirling patterns of cream fur on a base of pure white. Its eyes were still closed, and the tomkit was breathing evenly—_asleep_, Moonpaw guessed. _Good, he wouldn't like the jolting feeling of being carried._

"Well, let's bring her to Clawstar," Greennight said.

The kit opened its emerald eyes as the cats took it back to camp.

* * *

Sandykit pulled away as she was groomed by her mother, being fussed over for a bit of grass there and a messy pelt here. She stood next to Firekit, puffing her fluffy chest out. _My apprentice ceremony!_ she thought. They just had to wait for the patrol to get back, and—

Greennight suddenly burst into the camp, carrying a . . . _kit_ in her jaws? Sandykit shook her head. A kit. Of all things, there was a newborn kit in Greennight's jaws. _Did she give birth? Not likely_, Sandykit thought, glancing at the to-be queen's round belly.

"What is this?" Clawstar demanded. "Why is there a newborn kit here?"

Greennight set the swirl-pelted newborn down gently before answering. "We found him, Clawstar—he's Dawnstep's son." Sandypaw blinked in surprise at Dawnstep, who was watching the kit carefully.

"Alright. I will have his adoption ceremony—I suppose Dawnstep is taking him on?"

"Yes, and I will nurse him until he can eat," Greennight said, while Treeheart nodded in agreement to her proposal.

"WAIT!" shouted a small voice, a kit's voice. Buzzingtail dove into a nearby bush and pulled out a struggling black-gray she-kit with brown eyes, about Sandykit's age.

"Are you NightClan?" she asked timidly, looking straight at Clawstar.

"Yes. Yes we are, kit," said Sandykit's leader.

"I want to join you . . . They left me."

"I'll have two adoption ceremonies and three apprenticeship ceremonies to do today, then," Clawstar said, twitching his whiskers. Sandykit wondered who _they_ were. "What's your name then?" asked Clawstar.

"Dark." Sandypaw noticed that Darkheart, one of the warriors, flicked her tail in displeasure.

"Alright. Let all cats old enough to speak with the stars gather around the stonecliff for several important ceremonies!" called Clawstar. The stone cliff wasn't a cliff, just a short, flat stone hill where the leader would speak.

"First, we have a newborn kit by the name of—" Clawstar glanced and Dawnstep.

"Swirlkit," Dawnstep replied.

"—Swirlkit. He has been abandoned by a loner and will be adopted into the Clan. For this to happen, he will need parents. Dawnstep, Greennight, and Treeheart, please come here." The three cats stepped forward.

"Dawnstep, do you agree to become Swirlkit's Clan father, his guardian and his teacher?"

"I do."

"Greennight and Treeheart, do you agree to care for this kit until it can fend for itself?"

"We do."

"Then I now name this kit one of us. StarClan, look down on this kit. He has been accepted by our warriors to ones part of NightClan, and he will grow to honor you."

Sandykit shifted her paws, getting a little bit impatient. _Can't Clawstar hurry?_

"We also have a six moon old kit by the name of Dark. She has been left behind and will be adopted into the Clan. For this to happen . . ."

Sandykit didn't pay much attention . . . that was, until Clawstar called her and Grassymoon's names.

"Grassymoon, do you agree to be a foster mother for Dark, her guider and carer?"

Grassymoon hesitated, glancing at her real kit. Sandykit nodded. _Yes__. I wouldn't mind . . . Perhaps this kit might even become my best friend one day, along with Firekit._

"I do."

"Sandykit, do you agree to become sister of Dark, her friend and listener?"

"I do."

Sandykit backed away, hearing a hiss from Darkheart when Clawstar decided to keep Dark's original name, just adding the kit part. Soon, it would be paw.

"Now. Sandykit and Firekit, please come forward. Darkkit, stay where you are."

"Firekit, you have reached past the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you will be know as Firepaw. Buzzingtail, you are ready to take on an apprentice. Thornheart has taught you many skills, and I expect you to pass them on to Firepaw."

The same ceremony happened for Darkpaw, Clawstar giving her Halffur for a mentor.

"And Sandykit. You have reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, you will be know as Sandypaw. Swanheart, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have learned patience and intelligence from your former mentor, and I hope you will pass these traits and many more onto Sandypaw."

Sandypaw touched noses with her mentor as the cats cheered for her, Firepaw, and Darkpaw.

_I'm an apprentice!_

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if this seems a little rushed; it's not, since Sandypaw was the age to be an apprentice. Plus, I had to let Swirlkit in since he ****wouldn't have survived if I had made the patrol find him later. Plus, for Darkpaw, she was walking since morning so she would've found NightClan by the time this chapter takes place (which is, by the way, sunhigh). Anyways, did you like it?**

**Random fact: There was a fire in the Great Storm too, but the warriors didn't see it. The fire was what killed Sparrow—he was Grassymoon's mate and Sandypaw's father.**

**Another random fact since I feel like it: When I type too quickly, I sometimes spell Sandykit/paw Snadykit/paw.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Now, you are in for a mystery POV . . . . As well as Moon, StarClan, Fire (which is pretty short)****, and of course Sandy. Swirl's still a newborn, so no. I might be changing the rating to T just in case. Sorry for the wait! **

**EDIT: Read and review, and enjoy! Timeskip of several minutes, and I think the original AN will tell you everything else you should know.**

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**Chapter Four**

The cat slunk carefully along the rustling fern leaves, blown by leaf-fall wind.

_Stupid Clawstar. Stupid Sandypaw. Stupid Darkpaw. Stupid NightClan._

The creature, hardly a proper cat, kicked some leaves and tore a nearby, unlucky mouse to shreds after catching it and shoving half of it into her mouth greedily. _Stupid mouse._

For the first time ever in its life, the cat felt ice, cold and wet, trickling down its spine, and it shivered as it thought about what it was going to to be meeting . . .

But it would be worth it. As the cat held the (stupid) squirming bundle in her mouth, the cat bit down harder than it was supposed to and the weak creature whimpered in pain as a small trickle of blood ran down its neck.

As the cat reached the secret quarters, it withheld a hiss of disgust as it saw its leader, circled by swooning she-cats that padded after him. And literally _after_ him. Where ever he walked, the she-cat followed in a line, fighting to be the first.

The cat tossed the kit aside and the leader walked right over it.

"Well then—" the leader's mouth started to form the first letter of her name, but the cat silenced him with a hiss.

"Do not use my stupid _Clan_ name," the cat snarled, not caring that he was her leader. The word clan was spat out like a bit of moon-old crow-food.

"Alright," said the leader, but he glared at the cat nonetheless. "Now, about our deal . . ."

* * *

Pathbreeze glared at the leader and the cat as if they were a piece of dung with flies buzzing around them. Her lip curled in disgust and when she spoke, her words came out in a dreadful, almost scary, snarl.

"I'm going to rip him to shreds," she muttered, sinking her claws into the grass. "and the other one too." Before she knew what she was doing, Pathbreeze tore a butterfly out of the air and was about to rip it to shreds, remembered the mouse, and promptly threw up.

"Time to summon the apprentices," she muttered mutinously.

* * *

Moonpaw stamped her foot as the voices spoke in her head. _Look_, she growled to them. _I'm trying to go and congratulate the apprentices__._

But the whispers increased their volume._ Go to sleep, _they whispered, _go__ to sleep . . ._

At the same time Moonpaw spotted the apprentices' ears prick up, and they started speaking to each other in low, hushed voices. Swanwing spoke to them, they nodded, and as for Moonpaw . . .

She gave up. She gave up, as she always did when the voices were invloved, and went to her nest.

* * *

"Did you hear them?" Firepaw asked the others as they huddled together, talking about the voices that they heard whisper at them eerily. "Did you?"

"Yes, Firepaw, we did," Darkpaw said with a roll of her eyes. "What else is new?" Firepaw sighed. _Hardly a few moments in the Clan and already acting like the boss._

"It said 'go to sleep'," Sandypaw said in a much gentler tone. "Should we? After all, Swanwing said we could rest for the day . . ."

"I guess," Darkpaw said, "but I don't have a liking for voices in my head."

"Well then, maybe they'll stop when you do go to sleep . . ." Firepaw quickly bounded off to his nest.

He closed is eyes and delved into darkness, willing it, wanting it. Firepaw was quickly overcome by the blinding light of stars. He, Darkpaw, and Sandypaw huddled together, spotting a light gray she-cat. He and Sandypaw both opened their mouths at the same time.

"_Moonpaw_?"

* * *

Sandypaw shivered as the wind brushed past her pelt, looking from apprentice to apprentice . . . And then, up at the cat.

"StarClan . . ." She stared up at the pale gray cat, a bit lighter than Moonpaw, so that she was almost white. Stars twinkled in her pelt and her brilliant blue eyes.

"Yes, Sandypaw," the cat said, sitting down and curling her tail around her paws. "I am Pathbreeze."

Darkpaw tilted her head, and Sandypaw guessed her 'sister' didn't get a single thing. "Halffur will tell you," she hissed out of the corner of her mouth, then stared up at Pathbreeze with a faint challenge to her tone. "Well?"

Pathbreeze blinked and spoke. "We're missing Swirlkit, but I can't get him yet. Hardly a moon old."

"Newborn," Firepaw cut in.

Ignoring this, Pathbreeze continued. "Anyways, I better just say it—You are cats of destiny."

"Well, that was random," commented one of the others. Sandypaw didn't turn around to see who it was. Maybe it was even her speaking. Her fur bushed and spiked up.

"_What?_" Sandypaw demanded. "This is—not good."

"May I ask why?" Pathbreeze asked, looking perfectly unaffected.

"Every story is just the same! There's a group of special cats—usually—, and there's this evil villain who wants to rule the Clans, and in the end the main cat leads the Clan into battle, and they win, and blah blah blah . . ." The other cats were staring at Sandypaw, but _she didn't care. _Fear and hopelessness filled Sandypaw like a slowly rising river. She looked frantically back and forth for a way to escape this information, to escape the stunned eyes of the others, to, to . . .

"Wrong," Pathbreeze said, with no attempt to be patient or gentle. "Each cat is different. Dawnstar and her friends did not kill Thornfang, unlike Waterstar and crew who destroyed Fireblaze's life, although his soul still existed—for me, and me alone, to kill. You are right that there is an evil—I will not tell you the traitor, you must find them yourselves. They want to _destroy_ NightClan, not rule it. But they are not the worst part." Pathbreeze's eyes became unfocused, and when she spoke again, her voice was unrecognizable.

"_When time of snow finally comes,_

_The Clans will no longer see sun,_

_A bridge of ice freezes the gorge,_

_And cats cross of their own accord._

_They want to return,_

_The Clans pulling them,_

_They want to leave,_

_From this stony den._

_They want their own pleasure,_

_These cats, all too needy,_

_They don't care for their young,_

_These cats, all too greedy._

_Some've made their home there,_

_And some love the Clan,_

_But some hate the barren home__,_

_And some hate the Clan._

_Only five can do it,_

_Five from the modernity,_

_Only five can do it,_

_Save NightClan for all eternity._"

When Pathbreeze finished the strange song-like prophecy, she regained sense and stared at the open-jawed apprentices. "Swirlkit should learn the Eternity Song soon enough."

Sandypaw replayed the eerie song in her head over and over. "So basically," she said tentivately, "when leaf-bare comes, the Glowing River will freeze and most cats will want to cross back, and the ice will not melt, so it's our job to stop them from destroying NightClan?"

"Yes," Pathbreeze said. "Make NightClan a Clan . . . _for all eternity_."

* * *

**A/N: Like last time, the RF is from the original AN. I just pretty much skimmed throug this one, editing just a bit.**

**Random fact: The group of Moon, Sandy, Fire, Dark, and Swirl will be called the Saviors.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: There's going to be a little battle action in this. Just saying. Did I mention it's just a mock battle? Anyways, Timeskip: One day. PoVs: Moon, Dark, Swirl, Sandy. Yes, I did take these battle moves from _Secrets of the Clans._ This is a _little _bit shorter than the last two chapters, but oh well!****  
**

**EDIT: Again, the original should tell you everything.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Moonpaw found herself as a model for the new apprentices.

She had been _trying_ to avoid them after the . . . the incident. It didn't really work.

Sometimes it seemed as if Vinetail was purposefully doing this. Just a day—_just a StarClan-forsaken day_— and she had to interact. Sighing, Moonpaw heaved herself onto her back legs. She hadn't felt this much energy in days, so maybe she should use it.

Vinetail sprung at her. Moonpaw leaped up and crashed down on her mentor's back. She was a bit smaller than the size of an average warrior, and Vinetail was small for a warrior, not average, so it was a fair claw-to-claw fight. Well, demonstration fight.

Vinetail rolled over, trying to 'crush' Moonpaw, and she jumped off, slightly panicking at the moment but remembering that this was a mock battle the second after. The feeling came every time, ever since . . .

_Stop. _Moonpaw forced herself to pay attention, ducking just in time as Vinetail swiped a sheathed paw at her. Slipping underneath Vinetail's belly, she whipped around to face her opponent, pushing Vinetail down.

_We are the true NightClan. We never give in._

* * *

Darkpaw watched, wide-eyed as Moonpaw's paw sunk into Vinetail's throat, then realized that it didn't hurt. Firepaw's mentor, Buzzingtail, addressed them.

"And that is how a battle is fought—of course, you need your claws out when attacking rogues or foxes."

_True, true. _Darkpaw turned to face Halffur, opening her mouth, but Sandypaw beat her to it.

"And?"

Swanwing twitched her whiskers. "And we are going to teach you several moves; first, the best move for an apprentice: leap-and-hold. Like Moonpaw did to Vinetail, you must spring onto your opponent's back and grip with unsheathed claws. This makes you out of range of your enemy's claws and you can inflict wounds. Would anyone like to try—"

She was cut off as Firepaw sprang on top of her, gripping but without the claws. "How's that?"

Buzzingtail purred in amusement. "Perfect." While Swanwing struggled to get Firepaw off her back, he continued the lesson.

"Next, the front paw blow. Bring your paw down on your opponent's face, but with claws sheathed."

Darkpaw quickly made her move on Buzzingtail, whacking her paw on the side of his head and grinning at Sandypaw's indignant look; from her position, she had probably been about to do the same. _Not anymore, though! _There was a nearby _thunk _as Swanwing was able to get Firepaw off.

"And finally," her mentor, Halffur, said, "the teeth grip. This is similar to Swanwing's leap-and-hold, but your claws remain free to fight. Just sink your teeth into one of your enemy's extremities—the legs, tail, scruff, or ears—and sink in your teeth and hold."

Darkpaw watched a blur of white and cream fur get a hold of Halffur's leg, letting go quickly and suppressed a purr at Sandypaw's content face.

* * *

Sandypaw smiled, as much as a cat could, as she finally got to try out a move.

"Well," Swanwing said, "since you already did the moves, I suppose you can go back."

"Can't we do something else?" Sandypaw asked, ignoring the complaint of Firepaw that he didn't want to.

Buzzingtail looked uncertain. "Well, I suppose I better teach you about foxes."

"_Foxes?_" Sandypaw and the others asked.

"Yes, foxes. They are russet-red creatures and they _usually_ don't eat cats. They kill just for the pleasure of it. Foxes are usually solitary or live with their cubs. They live in dens and mainly hunt at night. Foxes have a bad odor, too."

"And _that_," Sandypaw said, "was fast."

* * *

Swirlkit was just a day old. And he woke up.

Swirlkit opened his eyes for the first time in his short, one-day life. Everything was blurry; Swirlkit blinked multiple times and got up on wobbly legs, waking up the giant furry thing next to him.

"He's awake!" called the thing—a large cat—and two toms came rushing in. One was orange-striped and the other was scraggly-pelted and brown. Swirlkit opened his mouth, forming words for the first time in his life. Like any other kit, he had a sense—a sense of this Clan, a want to be leader.

"Can . . . I . . . Go . . . Out?" The words were somewhat distorted, but he was still just young . . . A day, wasn't it?

"He spoke!" the orange-striped one exclaimed. "Don't they start at—at a quarter moon?"

The cat who spoke first shrugged, a movement that rippled through her muscles and made Swirlkit grasp onto the nest with sharp little claws. _What about my question? _he wondered innocently. As if reading Swirlkit's mind, the orange striped tom bent down and said, "You can go, little kit."

As Swirlkit padded out on unsteady legs, shouts erupted from the stone clearing.

"Look, it's Swirlkit!"

"Yeah. Isn't he just a day old?"

"Welcome to NightClan, Swirlkit!"

The last speaker was a cream-and-white tabby she-cat smaller than the rest. For some reason, Swirlkit immediately liked her friendly nature.

And the others, too; the pale gray she-cat, the rusty-russet tom, and the black-gray she-cat.

They were all smaller than the warriors.

But the other smaller one he _didn't _like, though, was a dark gray tom-cat with yellow eyes, looking at him with clear . . . envy, almost hatred, in his eyes.

Swirlkit was just a day old. But the name of the tom pounded in his head.

_Falconpaw_.

* * *

**A/N: EDIT: Do you know how hard it was to write about a day-old kit, anyways, here's the original RR (review rules) and RF!**

**These are my review rules. I would like for you to follow them, although of course you don't have to.**

**1. If you read the story, review!**

**2. If you like the story, review!**

**3. If you want one of your OCs in this story, review!**

**4. If you want to review, review!**

**5. If you can give me tips, review!**

**6. If you hate my ****writing . . . Review!**

**Random fact: Falconpaw has something to do with Sky. If you remember, that's Swirlkit's mother.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is edit only. Falcon, Sandy, Moon, and Fire. No timeskip, a tiny bit of FireXSandy, and hardly any edits.**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Falconpaw stared at Swirlkit in pure jealousy. _He doesn't deserve this. A life, a Clan, three parents—sickening, disgusting! _The kit with thistledown for a brain was wandering around aimlessly, and Falconpaw's claws sunk into the patch of grass he was standing on as Moonpaw gazed at the kit with soft eyes that were meant to look at _Falconpaw,_ not some day-old kit. Falconpaw could almost feel the intensity of his mate's—no, den-mate's—eyes fixed on the kit_,_ and only the kit.

_Dawnstep was supposed to be _my _father. Just because some toad-brained, fox-dung-smelling, rotten crow-food tom came by and took Sky off her feet doesn't mean I should be condemned to live this fish-gutted life, while a kit gets to have mine! _Falconpaw was reeling out what ever insults he had in store, the worst words he could ever use that would've earned him the rest of his apprenticeship in the elder's den if he said his thoughts out loud.

Falconpaw's claws glinted in the sunlight, subconciously tearing at grass and turning it into tiny green and yellow pieces. _Soon, kit. Soon, you and I will be covered in blood and smelling of a fox that never attacked, and one of us will die._

* * *

Sandypaw paced back and forth as she watched Swirlkit explore the camp. Her claws flexed, sheathing and unsheathing, and apparently Swanwing noticed, as she gave Sandypaw a worried kind of look.

_When will be able to get together? Sure, Darkpaw, Firepaw, and I are fine, but Moonpaw's all scared and Swirlkit is too young. We can't fight the whole Clan alone . . ._

Still deep in thought, Sandypaw didn't notice what—or rather, who—she was walking into until she walked into the cat. Sandypaw jumped back as her nose hit Moonpaw's flank. The older she-cat was watching Swirlkit with a fondness in her eyes that Sandypaw didn't recognize.

"You're worried too, aren't you?" Sandypaw jumped as Moonpaw swiveled her head around, lowering her muzzle a bit to reach Sandypaw.

"Mhmm," came Sandypaw's reply. "This is too—too confusing, really."

"I know."

The two cats fell silent, aware that Swirlkit was being led back in and that other cats' attention would be on them soon. Their theory came out to be true, as Clawstar padded over to them. Sandypaw jumped. She knew that all cats here were equals, but she still felt a strange air of respect around her leader, and she listened as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Moonpaw, I want you to check the border for foxes; I had a report. Sandypaw, come here." Her ears pricking worriedly, Sandypaw trotted over to her leader.

"Sandypaw . . . is there anything you would like to tell me?" asked Clawstar when they were in the stone territory, where no one could hear them. Sandypaw jumped and shook her head. "Why?"

"Oh, just—never mind," Clawstar continued. "I'm on my last life, Sandypaw, and leaf-bare is coming. Fogpelt is a good deputy, but when she ruled this Clan, she will . . . she will not ask for opinions . . . she will not care . . ." Clawstar trailed off, and Sandypaw had the faint impression that he was talking to himself.

"Why are you telling _me?_" Sandypaw asked. Clawstar's eyes became unfocused, and it reminded her eerily of Pathbreeze when she had done the Eternity Song prophecy. The theroy turned out to be true; Clawstar opened his mouth again._  
_

"_Fog is reckless, it is rude,_

_Fog won't be able to be true,_

_Sandy waters and Fiery masks,_

_Darkened sights and Swirled feathers,_

_And of course the moon with blades,_

_Join together, make a one,_

_Bring our NightClan some more sun._

_When water and star come at last,_

_We're reminded of the battle's past,_

_Claws fly into throats and blood,_

_But this fight is for the good,_

_Fog is reckless,_

_Fog is rude,_

_Fog won't be able_

_To be true."_

Clawstar suddenly collasped, his eyes rolling back so that only the whites showed. Sandypaw looked around desperately for help, and her eyes met Moonpaw's green gaze.

* * *

Moonpaw opened and closed her mouth, rushing out of the bushes as Sandypaw's pleading eyes bore into hers. She took Clawstar's scruff and with some unknown, unheard agreement the two she-cats took their leader's limp, vaguely breathing body and took it into the camp, where they were met by gasps of horror. Only one cat didn't show any surprise.

Fogpelt was looking at Clawstar, her eyes glinting with—_with venom?_ Moonpaw wondered as she looked at her deputy.

"Take Clawstar's body for burial, and Froghopper, you can come with me to the Glowing River," Fogpelt demanded. Both Moonpaw and Sandypaw jumped up, saying at the same time: "He's still breathing!"

Fogpelt's eyes pierced Moonpaw's pelt. "That can be easily taken care of," she said, walking right on top of her leader's body as if it were nothing.

"There," she said, ignoring the hisses from the crowd. "He's dead."

Froghopper's eyes were full of menace, along with many of the other cats, but he just opened his mouth, let out a tiny snarl for his feelings, and nodded curtly. Moonpaw stared, horrorstruck.

_This can't be happening! Why did they just stand by?_

* * *

Meanwhile, a pair of green eyes watched Fogpelt.

Firepaw wanted to let out a roar of fury, to rip the stupid she-cat to bits until all there was left of here was power for the crows to peck at. Every cat seemed to agree with him, but no one would feel as much as Firepaw.

_She killed my _father_!_ Firepaw's head snarled. A creature inside of him awoken and bit snapped its jaws hungrily, wanting blood, ready to tear and kill—

"Are you alright, Firepaw?" asked a soft voice. Firepaw glanced down at his partially bloodied claws that were trying to dig into the stone. He lifted his paw and lapped at it, then looked up to see dark brown eyes gazing worriedly at him.

"I'm fine, Sandypaw," was his empty reply.

"You're not," she said. "Come on, let's go to the medicine den . . ."

"I can handle it," Firepaw insisted. He felt a tongue flick over his ear. "Come out of the den when you're up to it," he heard Sandypaw call as she padded out of the apprentice's part of the camp. Firepaw sighed and lay his head on his paws.

_I don't think I ever will be . . ._

* * *

**A/N: *edit only except for the RF* So, someone guess why every cat just stood by instead of killing Foggystar?**

**Fogstar: *glares***

**Soooooo . . . ****Random fact: Swirlkit was originally going to be Swirlfog, but it's been changed because of Fogpelt's name.**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: So! There ****_will _****be a little SandyXFire in this; if you got the hint in** **my last chapter ;) Fire, Sand, Goose (you'll see), and Swirl; 3-moon timeskip (very very late leaf-fall, and this leaf-fall will, for some unknown reason, last 3 ****_more_**** moons). Let's pretend that the apprentices' ceremony was delayed, since the ages don't really make sense anymore.**

**So, anyways, enjoy and REVIEW!**

**EDIT: All you need to know is up there. Especially the review part.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Swirlkit stretched and cast his gaze around the camp, his gaze hitting the fresh-kill pile. He padded over to it, nudging a swallow with his nose and having it tumble onto his belly. With a small _oomph,_ Swirlkit dragged it towards the nursery, trying to lick the grit off of it. Greennight purred as she saw Swirlkit.

"You can eat it yourself, little one," she said, then groaned. "I'm not feeling wel—!"

His foster mother's last words were broken by a wail of agony. Meadowlark, who had decided to resign to the nursery after her mate's death, jumped up, brushing past Swirlkit on her way to Froghopper and Goosepaw's den.

Treeheart, one of Swirlkit's foster fathers, burst through the nursery, treading over Swirlkit's swallow and lying close to Greennight, whose claws tightened around Treeheart's leg. Swirlkit winced.

"I'm here with raspberry leaves!" Goosepaw panted. "Froghopper should be here soon—don't worry, it's alright . . ."

Still in shock, Swirlkit let himself be nudged away gently by Meadowlark. The last thing he heard was a scream of pain from Greennight before he let himself flow into sleepy, black darkness . . .

* * *

From the way Goosepaw was pacing, she could've been Treeheart. Laying the leaves down carefully, she watched Froghopper with anxiety as he felt around Greennight's stomach.

"Probably three kits—come here, Goosepaw."

Goosepaw hurried over to her mentor's side just as the first kit slid out. She spotted small beads of blood on Treeheart's leg and cringed inwardly. Getting herself to focus, Goosepaw nipped the sac and licked the kit roughly. "Tom," she announced as the kit let out a small mew.

"Here's a little she-cat," Froghopper called from the corner of the den. "And . . . quite a big one . . . Tom!" he announced. "And another tom! Greennight, you _can _let go of Treeheart's leg now."

Both mother and father were panting heavily; Goosepaw spotted a swath of cobwebs in the den and wrapped it around Treeheart's hind leg. She watched her favorite part of kitting—the naming.

"Wave . . . kit," Greennight got out, her gaze on the brown tabby tom whose green eyes opened quickly. "Ripplekit." Her tail touched a silvery tabby softly. Goosepaw's guess of amber eyes for him was correct.

"And this one," —Treeheart touched another silver tabby; this time, a complete mini copy of Greennight— "Lakekit."

Goosepaw gazed at the happy but exhausted family.

_Welcome to the Clan, little ones._

* * *

Sandypaw purred as Froghopper and Goosepaw announced the arrival of Wavekit, Ripplekit, and Lakekit. Her mind filled with visions of three tabby kits dancing in the wind and playing in the sun. She felt Firepaw's nose touch her ear, Darkpaw close behind at her side.

"Great, isn't it?" her foster sister asked. "New kits." Sandypaw nodded faintly.

"You'd be a good mother," came a whisper behind her. Warm breath touched her ear. Sandypaw spun around to see Firepaw, who was clearly talking to himself although adressing her. Sandypaw's tail twitched.

"Vinetail said that we have to practice battle moves as a group alone," came a voice. All three apprentices jumped to see Moonpaw.

"We? What about Falconpaw?" Darkpaw asked, just as Sandypaw was about to open her jaws and ask the same thing. She glared at Darkpaw, remembering their first training session. Sandypaw twitched her whiskers,

"Moss collecting," Moonpaw said with a smirk, which she'd never done before. "For pulling that stunt on you," she added, nodding to Sandypaw and reminding her of the time when Falconpaw put worms in her nest for being beaten in a training session.

"Great." Firepaw grinned wildly, not showing a trace of the tone he had spoken in just moments ago.

"Come on; let's go!" Darkpaw said, bouncing on her paws. "Finally, a training time without Falconpaw for a change!"

Moonpaw nodded, pricking her ears when Darkpaw quite randomly burst into song.

"_We are the Saviors,_

_The legitimate cats of grace,_

_We are the Saviors,_

_The ones who save NightClan's place . . ._"

"Uhhh . . . Say that again?" Firepaw tilted his head to one side.

"We are the Saviors." Darkpaw looked from one cat to the other. "Look, the legitimate part doesn't make sense, but still!"

"Saviors," Sandypaw echoed, and they all pricked their ears. "We are truly the Saviors, Darkpaw. Maybe we should call ourselves that."

"I was thinking of the Fogstar Rebels, but that works," Firepaw said.

Darkpaw's smile was the biggest Sandypaw had ever seen as she agreed and ended the song. "_We are the Saviors, the cats with StarClan's embrace!_"

* * *

Firepaw, who had already stretched his mouth to the limit and never had been so relaxed in weeks, gave a smaller smile as he padded beside Sandypaw. Their pelts brushed and Firepaw felt his denmate tense and shift a little, leaving a warm tingling feeling where her fur had touched his.

_We are the Saviors, the ones who save NightClan's place . . ._

Firepaw silently cursed Darkpaw for getting the song stuck in his head. _What is this with cats and songs anyway?_

When they reached a nice, dusty clearing, Moonpaw split them up. "Sandypaw, you go with Firepaw, and I'll take Darkpaw."

Sandypaw merely nodded, but Firepaw felt an ecstatic feeling burn inside of him, unlike one he'd felt before.

"Alright. One . . ." Moonpaw's eyes swept over the cats. "Two . . . ATTACK!" she yowled, flinging herself at Darkpaw. Firepaw did the same to Sandypaw, and they rolled in a ball when Sandypaw aruptly stopped.

"Don't go further!" she shouted as Firepaw heard rocks pebbles crumbling. Helpless and petrified, Firepaw held out his paw, stretching it out. Sandypaw's claws met his, but at the same time she slipped, and Firepaw was forced to yowl her name, watching, not being able to do anything, as Sandypaw tumbled down the Glowing River.

* * *

**A/N: *all edit* Ooh, FireXSandy!**

**Fire: *glares like Fogstar did***

**Some of you already know what happens next, some of you don't. So anyway (I say that way too often, don't I) I have a new random fact. Only read if you've read up to chapter nine or further.**

**RF: Firepaw and Sandypaw are like a younger version of Cloudtail and Brightheart; She-cat gets disability, tom takes care of her, et cetera, et cetera. You get the idea.**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: So, where we left off . . . Oh yeah, Sandypaw was drowning.**

**Thank you to Guest for my first review, and Shaystorm for my second!**

**Timeskip of two seconds or so, Fire, Dark, Moon's and Sandy's. Oh . . . And Fog! In this we will see who the mystery POV is. Also, vote on my poll! I'm leaning towards FireXSandy right now, but I need opinions!**

**EDIT: See edit of chapter 7.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Darkpaw's fur stood on end as her sister's wet pelt bobbed down the Glowing River. She looked at Firepaw accusingly. "This is your fault—"

"Instead of arguing, why don't you go and get older warriors while Firepaw stands guard and I try to follow Sandypaw?" she asked. Darkpaw grunted her yes and gave a reluctant dip of her head to the older apprentice.

After she was out of sight, Darkpaw raced away to the camp, ramming straight into Fogstar's den. Three moons of learning self-control kept her from snarling at her leader, and she forced herself to say as calmly as possible: "Fogstar, there's been an accident and Sandypaw fell in the Glowing River."

Fogstar's tail merely twitched, but Darkpaw spotted the medicine cat—Froghopper—race over.

"_What,_ Darkpaw?" he asked.

"Vinetail let us have a training session alone, and Sandypaw and Firepaw were wrestling eachother and she fell into the gorge." Darkpaw was jumping back and forth now, on the tips of her paws. Couldn't they _hurry up?_

Soon enough, Froghopper and Goosepaw (the medicine cat apprentice was an excellent swimmer) were racing to where Firepaw sat. He pointed his tail downriver. "Moonpaw went there. I don't know whether she's trying to save Sandypaw or trying to drown herself."

Darkpaw held back a hiss of frustration, but it was quickly taken away by worry.

_What could happen to my sister?_

* * *

Sandypaw felt wet.

_Of course you're wet, fish-brain. You fell in the gorge. Too bad Swanwing hasn't given you swimming lessons._

Sandypaw's head jolted up and she realized she was moving. She was turning, subconsciously. Sandypaw's paws began to move of their own, instinctively stroking through the water and fighting against the strong currents. Her head was only just above water, and Sandypaw craned her neck to keep it that way. Splashes of water wettened her neck fur.

Was this what swimming felt like? Sandypaw thrust her legs with the strength of a lion, fighting the wind and water that threatened to push her away. Out of the corner of her eye, Sandypaw could see Moonpaw's gray pelt.

"Sandypaw!" she shouted, running along. Sandypaw subconsciously realized that she was swimming quite fast.

"Moonpaw," Sandypaw replied. She tried pushing her paws again, and it worked . . . but her paws suddenly caught in a tangle of river debris, and Sandypaw's head was pulled down, spluttering.

The last thing she felt was the cruel ripples of the river, washing her onto the shore and pulling her back into deep, murky, darkness.

And then her eyelids flickered and closed.

* * *

"SANDYPAW!" Moonpaw's bellow was most likely unheard by her Clanmate. Moonpaw crept closer, sniffing at Sandypaw's pelt as she was again washed upon shore. Dark green vines tangled and imprisoned her paws, and every shallow breath Sandypaw took had water flooding out of her mouth. Moonpaw nipped a vine carefully, and immediately pulled back, curling her bleeding lip.

_Typical fox-hearted Twolegs. Throwing their stuff in the river. And we used to think they were gone now . . ._

Moonpaw sliced a claw through the Twoleg-vine and quickly regretted it as she held up her now stumpy claw, inspecting it for bleeding.

Paws thumped along the stone and Moonpaw whirled around, pricking her ears and snarling, but pulled back aruptly as she realized that Darkpaw, Froghopper, and Goosepaw were coming.

"Here!" she yowled, her throat dry and painful now. Goosepaw was the first to come, hurrying over to Sandypaw.

"Twoleg stuff," Moonpaw explained in a raspy voice. Froghopper nodded and nosed a leaf towards her. "Take that. It'll help your throat," he explained. "I have enough."

"How do we get this out?" came Goosepaw's mew. She was stamping on the vine, keeping it from pulling Sandypaw back underwater. Froghopper didn't answer for a moment, as he was pushing Sandypaw's chest. The apprentice's eyes opened faintly.

"Where am I?"

"We're trying to get you free from this Twoleg rubbish," Goosepaw explained. "But we don't know how.

"How ironic. All the live-saving-hero stories I've heard, the victim wakes in a medicine cat den." Somehow, Moonpaw's denmate managed a purr. Moonpaw nuzzled into Sandypaw's fur, feeling a small bit of wet blood as she looked over Sandypaw's paws.

"Hey, I've—" Goosepaw's exclamation was broken by a loud 'pop' as Sandypaw was free of the vines at last.

Faint with relief, Moonpaw helped carry the still-conscious Sandypaw back to camp.

* * *

Fogstar hopped over a stray twig as she padded over to the only inact Twolegplace nest.

"This better be good," she grumbled to Darkheart, her companion. "You said that Akafrenze has a deal for us?"

When her warrior nodded, Fogstar continued without complaint until they reached the golden twoleg nest.

"Enter," came a voice from nowhere, making Fogstar jump.

"What was that?" Fogstar whispered to Darkheart, passing the entrance and walking down what twolegs called a 'hall'.

"No talking in the corridors!" shouted another voice, who turned out to be a cat standing guard. Fogstar leaped up again as he spoke, pelt bristling.

"Here we are," Darkheart said suddenly as they came to a stop in a twoleg 'room'.

"Ah yes, Drainex. You have brought your leader?" asked a large, well muscled orange tabby, with stunning blue eyes. Fogstar couldn't help but glare at the she-cats following the tabby around. She, like Darkheart, felt disgusted in a different kind of way.

"Yes, Akafrenze," Darkheart meowed. Fogstar guessed that Drainex was her band name. Well, if you could consider these cats a band.

"Very well. So. Our proposal is that you two bring me some certain cats to keep hostage, and in return I help you take over two Clans and destroy the other."

"You are correct," Fogstar said, nodding.

"The cats we want you to bring," Akafrenze said, "are a cream-and-white tabby she-cat, a gray she-cat, a rusty colored tom, a dark colored she-cat, and a creamy-colored swirled tomkit."

"Yes, Sandypaw, Moonpaw, Firepaw, Darkpaw, and Swirlkit will be easy to bring. Is that all?" Fogstar asked.

"Yes, that is all," Akafrenze said. Fogstar took a moment to notice that his deep, strong voice smelled strongly of cat blood, which made him all the more attracti—

_What? _Fogstar stared at herself, lost in thought. Akafrenze padded over to her, his muzzle close to her ear. "If you want, you can stay for a bit . . . You know, have a mouse or two, share some words?"

Fogstar purred against her will. "Yes," she said, her voice raising over the thrumming of her heart. Against her will, she added, "I'd love that."

And the leader didn't care that Akafrenze's fan she-cats were glaring daggers at her filled with venom, she didn't care that Darkheart was pacing impatiently, she didn't even care that her Clan would be suspicious.

All she cared about was that she could be with Akafrenze . . .

* * *

**A/N: Ooooo . . .**

**Fogstar: Shut up! And you forgot the disclaimer, too.**

**Me: Fine. You say it.**

**Sandypaw: Sandywater of NightClan (hey, that's me!) does not own warriors.**

**Me: *sighs* well, we need a little bit of change to the A/Ns, right? So anyways, review! **

**Back to the real A/N . . .**

**Random fact: Fogstar is in loooovvve . . . :P**

**EDIT: So. Have a nice day.**

***crowd is silent***

***cricket chirp***

***sighs* Anywho, yes Fogstar _will _be having kitties.**

**Fogstar: *glares***

**There's not much change in this; honestly, I think it's fine.**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: So. Time skip of about 30 minutes or so, and we have FireXSand in store. This chappie will be mainly Sandypaw POV, but there's a ****_tiny_**** bit of Pathbreeze and one part of Swirl (yay, a break from drama!) in there. Also, some of you might be confused with the ANs and edits and all that. Basically, I up a pause to the story while I revised and edited the chapters (I caught TONS of spelling mistakes from typing too fast, mind you) and then replaced them. Everything clear?**

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Sandypaw felt herself get carried. _Probably to the camp. _And then with that thought, she fell asleep.

* * *

Feeling herself stir, the little cream-and-tabby apprentice blinked open her eyes to find herself in the medicine den, an underground stone burrow. Sandypaw looked up at the entrance just in time to see Firepaw slip in, and she purred.

"You're awake! Where's Froghopper and Goosepaw?" he asked, bouncing on his paws.

"I don't know."

"Oh."

The two denmates fell into a momentary silence until Sandypaw spoke again, feeling somewhat awkward but not knowing why. "How's the others?"

"Fine," Firepaw said shortly. "Well, Darkheart isn't, if you mean the whole Clan, not just us. She and Fogstar came back from StarClan knows where and Darkheart's going crazy or something."

"Weird . . ." Sandypaw murmured this, more to herself than to Firepaw. She glanced at Firepaw's short claws, having evidently bled but with dried blood. "What's happened to you? Not digging your claws into stone again, are you?"

"Just from walking," Firepaw said indifferently. "And from climbing up and down here."

"Have you had them treated yet?"

"No need."

"You need some comfrey," Sandypaw insisted. "And maybe some cobwebs."

"Don't tell me you've become a medicine cat!" Firepaw's tone was light and teasing, but there was an ounce of seriousness and—Sandypaw wasn't sure—_fear _in his voice. Sandypaw shook her head.

"I'm not planning on it."

"Good. NightClan needs warriors like you."

"So, tell me about Darkheart," Sandypaw prompted, determined to keep the conversation going.

"Well, she keeps on talking about this 'akafrenze in love with froikanei', and Fogstar keeps on telling her to shut up. Any idea what a froikanei or akafrenze is?" Firepaw asked, sitting down and tilting his head to one side.

"Nope, no idea. Although the word froikanei sounds weird."

"Agreed. Do you need me to get Froghopper?" For Sandypaw's feet had begun to bleed again. She glanced at them and felt sickened at the blood and fur.

"No thanks."

Firepaw's voice became smaller now, and when he spoke, Sandypaw knew exactly why. "Sandypaw . . . Froghopper says there's a good chance of you not walking on that paw—" Firepaw nudged Sandypaw's front left paw, which throbbed painfully "—because from what he can see past the blood, it seems twisted."

"I don't mind," Sandypaw lied. Truthfully, she didn't mind _too _much. But there were going to be complications. _Will I be able to hunt? To fight? To walk normally? Will anyone even want to mentor me anymore? Will everyone hate me?_

The last question ended in a silent wail. It sounded so childish, but Sandypaw forced herself to focus on Firepaw, who was looking at her skeptically.

"Alright then," Firepaw said slowly. "Well, Grassymoon wants to see you, and Froghopper won't allow anymore visitors after that, but believe me, Moonpaw and Darkpaw nearly ran Froghopper over when he said that."

"I can imagine Darkpaw's face," Sandypaw said with a light purr.

"Yes . . ." Firepaw looked quite distracted. "Well, I'll see if I can drop in later. See you."

"See you," Sandypaw echoed. She watched Firepaw climb up the rocky entrance, the pale yellow sunlight dappling his rusty fur and shining in his green eyes as he took one last look back at her.

Some voices were exchanged above of Sandypaw, and a moment later her mother's tannish tabby pelt appeared, her leaf-green eyes flashing in the darkness.

"Sandypaw! All you alright? Do your paws hurt? Are you tired? Did Moonpaw save you? Do you know what happened after you swam the river? Can you remember anything?"

Sandypaw's face was being covered in licks from Grassymoon. She put on a mock thinking face. "Yes, not much, no, kind of, no, yes."

Grassymoon purred, then turned more serious. "Did Firepaw tell you about—"

"My foot? Yes," Sandypaw said, making a small attempt to raise her mangled paw to study it. Yes, it was pretty messy. Yes, it was probably twisted.

"Fogstar'll probably rename me Twistedpaw," Sandypaw muttered. Grassymoon's eyes darkened.

"Yes, knowing her, she might. Don't accept it, Sandypaw."

"I won't," Sandypaw promised.

"I better go now," Grassymoon said. "In the meantime, Sandypaw, try to sleep."

"I'll _try,_ but I might not necessarily _do._"

"Well then, try."

And then Grassymoon left.

* * *

Pathbreeeze smiled slightly as she watched the exchanges between Sandypaw and her two visitors. But she had something important to do.

_Time to summon Swirlkit . . ._

Pathbreeze closed her eyes and pictured the NightClan camp vividly, the purplish stone clearing with little torn-up patches of green and yellow grass, the collasped, wet yellow bars of wood folding on top of each other for dens. She pictured the little clearing in the corner of the camp where kits played, and focused on one single kit with swirls in his pelt, emeralds for eyes, and a destiny to fulfil.

* * *

Swirlkit had awoken and peeked in his foster mother's nest at the three little wet balls of fur. Had that been _him _once, just tinier and rib-thin? Treeheart had scolded him gently and sent him outside, "to give Greennight some rest." But there was a strange tug pulling Swirlkit that told him to go to sleep. It was soft yet insistent, and for that reason he curled up in a ball and forced himself to relax his tensed paws, to once again go into the silky black that had taken him just hours ago.

But it never came.

Instead, Swirlkit was swept off his paws into a somewhat fantasy-like land. He landed on a soft, grassy pale green hill that was tinted a light pinkish color because of the sky. Behind him, he heard a noise. Whipping around, he saw the other cats that he had seen on his first day. In Swirlkit's short, 3-moon-long life, he had learned the names of these cats; Sandypaw, Moonpaw, Firepaw, and Darkpaw.

Blinking his large eyes, he stared at the other apprentices. "Where are we?" his question came out as a squeak, and Swirlkit scuffed the ground with his paws, embarrassed.

"Oh, it's Pathbreeze-land," Darkpaw said airily, not concerned at all. "Sandypaw, is that how your paw'll turn out to be?"

All five cats' heads twisted to look at Sandypaw's injured front paw. Swirlkit had heard the commotion, and he looked curiously at the backwards paw.

"Yes, probably. If this is 'Pathbreeze-land', as you say, I'm pretty sure I know what happens next." After Sandypaw spoke, the four cats turned their gazes to Swirlkit, and he gulped.

"What?" he asked, cowering.

"Sandypaw, you're scaring him," Moonpaw mewed. She swept Swirlkit's back with her tail. "She means . . . great StarClan, it's complicated."

"We don't have to explain it, though," Firepaw pointed out, flicking his tail to somewhere in the spruce trees that surrounded the hill. "Here's _our _savior."

"_Pathbreeze!_" the apprentices shouted. Swirlkit had the faint impression that he was missing out on something, and when a bright light filled his sight, he scrambled backwards. The others seemed perfectly calm, though. And then a voice, much like the one that had told him to go to sleep, rang throughout the area.

"Apprentices, you may wake up."

Suddenly, Firepaw, Darkpaw, Sandypaw, and Moonpaw faded away. Fear turned Swirlkit senseless, and he ran blindly before getting stopped by a cold, gentle paw. Swirlkit gingerly turned around.

There before him stood a cat like Moonpaw, but larger and with twinkling blue eyes and a paler, star-lighted pelt. The stories that Greennight had told him rushed all back to Swirlkit at once, and he opened his mouth.

"Pathbreeze?"

"Yes, little one. I am Pathbreeze." The she-cat—Pathbreeze, he reminded himself—spoke with the same air of dignity that Swirlkit had always imagined the cats of StarClan spoke.

"Why're you here?" Swirlkit mewed.

"Because there is something I must tell you." As Swirlkit trembled with excitement, Pathbreeze gracefully swept her tail onto her paws.

"Now sit down, little Swirlkit. There is much to hear."

* * *

**A/N: Woah, that was long. Read and review, and here's your RF: There'll be a LOT, and I mean A LOT of action in 3 more moons.**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Yay, so we finally have chapter 10! Thank you Peperpaw for another review. They're gold to me at the moment xD. So, lucky you, I am motivated to type a long chapter. Or maybe two chapters. Anyways, timeskip of . . . . dun dun dun . . . .**

**ONE DAY!**

**It's been a while since that happened (great StarClan, yesterday for the Clan was quite eventful) so here it is! All the awkwardness has been smoothed out, Swirlkit is now an official member of the Saviors. Also, today we have Falcon, Fire, Sandy, Akafrenze, and Moon. That was a long AN, so enjoy the chapter now!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Falconpaw officially _hated _Wavekit.

Sure, he had willingly moved out of the way so Falconpaw could change the bedding of the queens. But of course, that did not stop him from climbing onto Falconpaw's head. And of course, Wavekit just _had _to claw his ears to death.

The worst part was that his half-brother had laughed. A squealing, high-pitched annoying laugh; Falconpaw was convinced he used that tone purposefully just to annoy him. It rang in his ears and wouldn't get out. Swirlkit had tumbled out of his nest, rolling in a ball and getting his pelt grossly dirty, with sticks and twigs and grit all over his fur.

Or, perhaps the truly worst part was that no one did anything about it. Greennight was amused and did not scold any of the kits. Meadowlark had just laid on her paws, mooning around, like the lazy lump always did since her mate's death. Moonpaw had passed by when it had happened, and Falconpaw could've sworn that her whiskers twitched.

Falconpaw now walked to the medicine den and climbed.

"What would you like?" came Froghopper's drowsy voice.

"Isn't it obvious?" Falconpaw snapped impatiently. The strangely humid air made him irritable, and the fact that everyone was dozing around while his head ached painfully did nothing to help his immensely ungracious mood. Somewhere in the darkest corner, the silhouette of a head snapped up.

"Shut up, shrew," came an soporific voice. It was barely coherent and Falconpaw snarled, not knowing about the events of the day before and that it was Sandypaw speaking.

Froghopper rised to his paws, nudging his apprentice. "C'mon, Goosepaw. There's a grumpy cat in the den."

The gray-and-white cat rose to her paws and took a pawful of cobwebs. "Marigold for infection as well?"

"Yes, very good." Froghopper swept the poultice onto his patient's head.

Falconpaw's ears burned with a stinging fury, caused by both the marigold and his irritation. Without any show of gratitude, he climbed out of the medicine den and stalked back to his nest.

* * *

The rusty colored apprentice rose to his paws and padded into the warm, sunlit leaf-fall morning. He raced to the medicine cat's den, determined to visit Sandypaw before training started. Firepaw skidded to a stop, though, when a yowl rang through the purplish stone clearing.

"All cats may come to the stonecliff for a meeting."

Even after three moons, most cats still weren't used to this new summons. Slowly, cats emerged from their dens and crept silently around the stonecliff.

"As most of us know," Fogstar continued after everyone had gathered, "one of our apprentices, Sandypaw, has had a tragic accident."

Firepaw growled deep in his throat. _If she dares change Sandypaw's name to Twistedpaw, I'll snap her neck in two._

"Therefore, I will no longer allow apprentices to go out and train on their own without at least one warrior as a supervisor."

Fogstar's mouth slowly twisted into a sick, wildly gleeful smile. Firepaw braced himself for what she would say next.

"As Vinetail was the one who allowed these apprentices on their own, she willno longer mentor an apprentice."

Moonpaw, who was beside him, uttered a whimper of fear, and Firepaw immediately knew what would happen next.

"I will mentor Moonpaw."

* * *

Sandypaw winced. She had come for the meeting, given permission from the two medicine cats, and her paws hurt. Sandypaw also hurt for Moonpaw, who would be having a very . . . torturing time with her new 'mentor'.

Goosepaw's head swiveled around. "We need to get you back," she meowed.

"Actually," Froghopper said, "I think you'll be fine. The blood hasrd ride up very quickly—that's a miracle, mind you—and you can walk. I'm going to ask Swanwing to teach you to swim; you can help too, Goosepaw," he added as the small she-cat opened her mouth to speak.

"Sure, I will," Goosepaw said, looking content with her role.

"Also, Sandypaw, try and stand for as long as you can. That will make your leg muscles stronger, and you'll need that even more now because of your twisted paw. You can walk, run, stalk, do whatever you want, as long as you don't sit down just yet until you'retired and aching." Froghopper glanced at the entrance and exit of the camp. "I better get going to collect some catmint while I can; you too, Goosepaw."

And then they were gone.

* * *

Akafrenze sat in one of the human chairs, drinking some rabbit blood that had spilled on the thing called a table. He lapped up all the the rich, somewhat salty liquid. It stained his sharp, long fangs a deep, dark red. Hissing at one of the she-cats who tried to follow him, he interrogated his second-in-command, Gravitime.

"They say they are coming?"

"Yes, sir, with the gray cat they call Moonpaw."

"Very well. Please tell Chephuno to prepare a good meal. They will be tired."

"Yes, I will." Gravitime closed his eyes for a millisecond. "One large slice of venisonruined with rabbit kits and theblood of young prey?"

"That sounds perfect." The _per _of perfect rumbled deep in Akafrenze's dark orange chest.

_I will be waiting for you, Froikanei._

* * *

Moonpaw nervously followed Fogstar into the rocky forest. She had demanded for hfollow come along.

"You do realize," Fogstar meowed slowly, "that you will be getting your warrior name after this little venture?"

"No, Fogstar." Moonpaw gulped. "I didn't realize."

"Now you do."

Silence. Moonpaw was satisfied to remain like this, but she longed to turn around and run back towards the camp, to run away from Fogstar.

Her 'leader' paused at an orange flower. Moonpaw recognized it as a poppy flower, but she felt no more as something painful hit her head.

And then she fell into a deep, deep, whirlpool of black.

She was the first cat out of three to mysteriously disappear into the unknown threat of Akafrenze's band of cats.

* * *

**A/N: Not as long as I expected, but I'm typing up another chapter right after I finish typing this.**

**Random fact: The reason why no one killed Fogstar right there and then when she killed Clawstar was because there would be no leader for NightClan. The reason why they don't kill her now is because her deputy is Darkheart.**


End file.
